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The Fruits of GrotesquerieAuthor: Edogawa Ranpo
| Original Title | 猟奇の果 |
|---|---|
| Author | 江戸川 乱歩 |
| Genre | Detective & Mystery |
| Author Type | Male Author |
| Summary | In the shadowed corners of 1920s Japan, a wealthy idler named Aoki Ainosuke seeks escape from suffocating ennui through increasingly macabre obsessions. His Grotesquerie Club—a gathering of thrill-seekers staging bloody plays and morbid spectacles—collapses under its own excess, leaving Aoki adrift in deeper boredom. A chance encounter at a festival reveals his pragmatic friend Shinagawa Shiro committing petty theft, yet Shinagawa denies it, sparking a labyrinthine mystery. When Aoki later spots Shinagawa’s exact double in a film shot hundreds of miles away on the same day, reality fractures. Is it a twin, a phantom, or a darker trick of fate? Drawn into Tokyo’s underworld of secret societies and illicit voyeurism, Aoki uncovers layers of deception where identity blurs and desire curdles into danger. As grotesque fantasies bleed into crime, both men confront a chilling truth: obsession’s ultimate fruit is perilously close to madness. What begins as a game of curiosity spirals toward a confrontation with the unimaginable—and the monstrous reflection staring back from the mirror. |
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